Heretofore, there have been a variety of different types of amusement rides and apparatus for simulating the reduction of gravity to a rider. Some of these devices are known to be disclosed in Fitch, U.S. Pat. No. 857,338; Ridgway, U.S. Pat. No. 2,779,596; Ryan, U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,528; Greenwood, U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,120; Kitchen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,906; and Kitchen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,223.
Furthermore, there have been a variety of playground and backyard swings and swing sets used by children and adults. These swings can vary in height from a small swing standing about three meters high, to a large swing standing about five meters high. A rider of such a swing normally takes a sitting position in a swing seat and starts its pendulum motion from a position in which the swing is vertical, unless aided by a running start, or by a person to help push and enhance the height of the swing arc. While the sitting or standing position on a swing seat is the norm, riders have been known to lie on their stomachs on top of a swing seat and swing in a prone position, but without being secured to the swing.
Even the most skillful and powerful swing rider on a large swing will rarely exceed a 2 o'clock or 10 o'clock position at a height of about seven meters, before gravity overtakes the centrifugal force of the swing, and slack occurs in the swing rope or chain. Should a rider manage to force the swing to make a 360.degree. degree circuit, his or her height would seldom exceed about ten meters from the ground.
The use of external equipment to assist a swing rider to begin his or her ride from an elevated position is taught in Hoppes U.S. Pat. No. 1,731,532; Pruessner U.S. Pat. No. 1,918,559; and Walker U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,870. Each of these references discloses standard playground and backyard type swing systems which have adjacent stairs a person climbs to start swinging from a position above the ground. The rider thereby obtains an immediate swing elevation and experiences an initial speed which is higher and faster than starting to swing from the ground. But, even in these systems the initial height above the ground which the rider experiences would seldom be more than about one to four meters.
The closest known prior art is described in Japanese patent no. 36-2475 dated Apr. 1, 1961, to Nogima. This describes a chair-type swing having a cradle which is pulled to a launch position by a sliding car on rails. However, this device is clumsy in operation and its construction restricts the release height of the chair. Further, the cradle does not spin during operation.
In some swing systems, and especially those designed for small children, and in some amusement rides, bungee jumping equipment, parachute equipment, hang gliding systems, and the like, mechanisms for securing a rider to the equipment is provided. But, none of these systems provide a ride which initiates a rider module release at a height of more than ten meters above the ground. The prior art swing sets have not been large enough, strong enough or high enough to justify the use of a module for riders. Furthermore, prior art swing technology has not been known to operate at heights which allow a rider to reach a height which is greater than about seven to ten meters above the ground, or, other than in a trapeze system, to swing from a "launch" structure towards a "support" structure. It is noted that in trapeze systems, the swings are intentionally "high above the center ring", and never approach the ground.
Kitchen '906 and Kitchen '223 disclose an amusement ride and swing-type amusement ride which comprise a support structure, a support line, and a launch structure. However, Kitchen '906 support the rider(s) in a harness or an equivalent which causes the rider(s) to operate in the prone position. Some persons cannot handle this prone position for a variety of reasons including fear and physical incapacity. Older or physically challenged riders sometimes cannot handle strapping into a harness in a prone position.
Thus, nowhere in the prior art is there a module-type amusement ride which includes, in combination, a support structure having an upper portion which is located ten meters (and as much as several hundred meters or more) above the surface of the ground, a support line having an upper end connected to the upper portion of the support structure and a lower end to which is connected a system for securing a rider module to the support line or a plurality of rider modules to a support structure. In Kitchen '223 a multi-rider embodiment referred to as the Skysaucer can accommodate up to 120 riders in a saucer suspended from a support structure. However, the Kitchen '223 riders are seated in a plurality of rows, and the Skysaucer does not rotate about the axis of the support lines. The instant invention discloses alternate embodiments of a rider module which are nonobvious in light of the prior art. The present invention fills the market niche of offering virtually all riders the thrill of feeling true body-flight experience riding either alone or in small groups.
Further included is a launch structure which has an upper portion which is located ten meters (and as much as several hundred meters more) or more above the surface of the ground. The launch structure is spaced from the upper portion of the support structure, and which carries a launch line which includes a launching mechanism for releasable attachment to each rider module. In an alternate embodiment, the launch tower is attached to the top of the upper support structure thereby reducing the ground "footprint" of the ride. Also included is a mechanism associated with the launch structure, but which is not powered by the rider, for raising the rider module or modules which has been secured to the system to a height of at least ten meters (and as much as several hundred meters or more) above the ground, from which height the rider module or modules swing away from the launch structure towards the ground at high speed in a curved trajectory. Further novelty is taught by a multi-rider embodiment which can carry several rider modules simultaneously.